Wim Wenders – On PINAInternationally renowned filmmaker Wim Wenders, who has made masterpieces such as Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas and the Cuban music documentary Buena Vista Social Club, presented his latest documentary PINA, a 3D dance film that is a tribute to the legendary German contemporary dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch, at this year’s Berlin Film Festival in February. As Wenders explains: “The two-dimensional cinema screen is simply not capable of capturing Pina Bausch’s work, either emotionally or aesthetically. When I watched her dance for the first time twenty-five years ago, I was captivated and deeply moved. I was able to understand human movement, gestures and feelings in a whole new way. And this magic is what I would like to translate to the screen […] 3D gives us the possibility of taking the audience directly onto the stage, into the middle of the event.” Showing excerpts from the film, Wenders will present a case study on PINA and discuss the creative possibilities that 3D technologies open up for filmmakers.

11:00-12:30AM Session A
STEREOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY. Rendering 3D space into a 3D image

Capturing is the most critical part of the S3D ecosystem. In this panel, experienced cinematographers and stereographers share their particular expertise, present their tools and discuss their different approaches to how to best to render space, depth and texture onto the stereoscopic image.

1:30- 3:00PM Session B
STEREOSCOPIC POST PRODUCTION AND VFX – Expanding the toolset or what happens after capture

A round table discussion on techniques, challenges and possibilities of the stereoscopic 3D postproduction field. Post production and visual effects experts show examples of their work and discuss the most pressing issues.

3:00-3:20PM Mini Keynote
IS THERE A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR 3D? Practical considerations for 3D brightness in Theatres

This presentation will demonstrate the visual effects of reduced light levels, discuss how the 3D projection systems work, and address the physical reasons why luminance levels are reduced. Because the 3D systems are significantly less efficient than 2D systems, matching light levels with 2D presentations is not practical today. Considerations for practical levels will be addressed.

Matt Cowan Ph. D. (Chief Scientific Officer RealD)

3:20 – 3:30PM Break

3:30- 5:00PM Session C
CONVERSION – Creative challenges

This panel will focus on the latest 2D to 3D conversion technology and processes, with panelists presenting and discussing their tools, the quality and appearance of converted content, and the creative opportunities available for filmmakers using 2D to 3D conversion.

Filmmaking with stereoscopic 3D presents a whole new range of challenges, but immersing the audience into a scene can deeply affect the viewer and give the filmmaker a whole new set of aesthetic possibilities. What should be taken into account when producing in 3D and where can filmmakers go with it? Panelists will discuss these questions while presenting examples of their own film and TV work.

Peter Anderson, ASC – On Stereography3D 101 with Peter Anderson, ASC. A real world overview of filming in 3D. This one hour masterclass will address practical concerns in 3D filming and 3D rigs. It will include 3D Production Clips and 3D Subtitles, plus 3D Sticks the Tutorial.

Presented by James Stewart, Geneva Films

8:45 – 9:30PM ScreeningBugs! A Rainforest Adventure

2003 – 40min
Insects are essential to life on Earth. They pollinate plants and recycle waste. By managing life and death they are the true caretakers of the natural world. BUGS! A Rainforest Adventure follows the life cycles of a mantis and a butterfly, from their births to their inevitable encounter in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, where predator meets its prey.

Rob Allison Ph.D, York University – Perceptual Artifacts in Stereoscopic 3D FilmLaurie Wilcox, Ph.D, York University – The Role of Monocular Regions in Depth Percepts from StereopsisMarty Banks, Ph.D, University of California, Berkeley – Temporal Presentation Protocols in Stereo Displays: Flicker Visibility, Perceived Motion and Perceived DepthModerator: James Elder, Ph.D, York University

10:30 – 10:45 AM Break

10:45AM -12:30PM Session 2
HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTS IN 3D FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Nicholas Wade, Ph.D, University of Dundee – The Experimental Origins of Cinema and StereoPhilippe Mora Ph.D,- The Search for 3D in the Third ReichCharles Acland Ph.D, Concordia University – The Quiet Years of James CameronModerator: Mike Zryd, YorkUniversity

12:30- 1:30PM Lunch break

1:30 – 3:15PM Session 3NATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO 3D CINEMA

Haidee Wasson, Ph.D,Concordia University – Film Technologies and Corporate Utopias: The Case of the New York World’s Fair (1939)Janine Marchessault, Ph.D, York University – Norman McLaren’s Total Cinema: 3D visions at the Festival of BritainDavid Harris Smith, Ph.D (c), York University– Immersive Cinema Innovation and the NFBSanja Obradovic, Ph.D (c), York University – Developments in Stereo 3D as Nation-Building ProjectsModerator: Marta Braun, Ryerson University

3:15 – 3:30PM Break

3:30-5:30PM Keynote

Thomas Elsaesser– Ph.D, Professor Emeritus University of Amsterdam

The Return of 3D: Revolution, Retrenchment or Panic Reaction? It is generally assumed that Hollywood’s massive push of 3D over the past two years is a response to the intensified competition from rival media platforms and in order to raise the bar for piracy and other forms of copyright infringements. This paper argues for a more complex – and contradictory – sets of agendas, where the traditional interest in spatial vision among avant-garde artists and filmmakers, the industrial uses of 3D and the objectives of mainstream cinema overlap, interact and cross each other, suggesting that some of the underlying issues around 3D require a wider horizon of analysis, in order to become comprehensible.

Introduction by Marta Braun, Ryerson University

5:30 – 7:00PM Dinner Break

7:00 – 8:00PM Keynote / Masterclass
Catherine Owens – On Directing 3D

Seeing. “When a person tells you something or shows you something, how do you ‘see’ what they mean?” Drawing from contemporary art practices, this presentation challenges the assumptions of how we experience what we see, introducing creators to the nuances of directing 3D.

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

2010 – 44minThrough the power of IMAX® 3D, Hubble 3D takes moviegoers on an unprecedented voyage through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mystery of our celestial surroundings. Experience never-before-seen 3D flights through the farthest reaches of the universe, and accompany spacewalking astronauts on some of the most difficult and important endeavors in NASA’s history. Hubble 3D is an IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures production, in cooperation with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA.)

Keynote by Graeme Ferguson

Graeme Ferguson has been enjoying 3D films for 60 years, starting with Norman McLaren’s Around Is Around (1951). Later he was a participant in the development of IMAX Corporation’s film-based 3D projection systems, including IMAX 3D and IMAX Solido, as well as the Solido and 30 perf cameras. His team’s IMAX 3D films have done boffo box office. Ferguson will provide some observations, and will hazard a prediction or two about the future of 3D.